


Shut the system down

by nanabells



Series: We Could Be Heroes (Jasico Superhero AUs) [4]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Video Game World, DarkMage!Nico, Knight!Jason, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-31 15:02:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19428388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanabells/pseuds/nanabells
Summary: “Are you okay?” Thunder Eagle asked, bending on one knee by Nico and looking every bit a knight in shining armor. “Do you need healing?”Nico’s mouth went dry.Nico wakes up in his favorite game, Tales of Olympus, and meets a knight.





	Shut the system down

Nico was confused.

More confused than that time in 4th grade when he realized he was gay.

He very distinctly remembered going to bed in his room last night at 11:30PM on the 30th of June. But when he woke up, he was curled up between the gnarled roots of a massive, towering tree with branches as thick as he was tall. He recognized the tree – it was the **Whispering Oak of Dodona** , the log-in point for players of the popular MMORPG based on Greek and Roman mythology, **Tales of Olympus**.

At first Nico thought it was merely a dream, so he stood up, marvelling at the amount of detail on his black cloak and his staff, the **Sceptre of Diocletian** , and set off for the nearest city of **Athenia**. Along the way, he passed by the **Dryad’s Forest** , laughing as the low-level basilisks tried to attack him.

The trek to the city was easily a half-hour walk, but Nico didn’t mind, because he enjoyed the sights on his trip. He was walking on a dirt road and to his right was a wide expanse of grass, while to his left was a shimmering river. This was such a wonderful and vivid dream! He was starting to wonder when he would wake up, but he prayed he wouldn’t yet. He wanted to see what Athenia was like.

It was when he finally arrived that he realized something was very, very wrong. Athenia had always been cramped with player characters, called **Heroes** , partly because it was so close to the Oak, and partly because it was the centre for scribing and crafting. But today the heroes were everywhere, shambling about, crying, shouting, and looking very much as alive as Nico.

Hesitantly, Nico approached a **human** woman who was a **druid** , according to her status bar.

“Is something wrong?” He asked, and it felt like a stupid question, because the woman was almost tearing her hair out.

“I’m stuck here! We’re all stuck here! In the game!” She screamed. “We’re all in the game!”

“I… I don’t understand,” Nico took a step back at the crazed glint in her eyes.

She let out an inhuman shriek and shoved Nico flat on his back, before stomping away. Nico yelped, because the feeling of falling on his back hurt. And it wasn’t supposed to.

Because this was a dream.

Nico fainted and ended up on his back for the second time that day.

When he regained consciousness, it was already nighttime. He was in the same spot where he fainted, by the row of white, marble Doric columns that served as Athenia’s border. He was both relieved and disappointed that he didn’t wake up back in his world, but now Nico was determined to make the most out of this dream or nightmare or whatever. This was Tales of Olympus after all, the MMORPG he’d loved since it first came out 8 years ago!

Absently, he thought of the menu screen and how he was supposed to access it. His first idea was that it was controlled by thought. He was correct, and he was startled half to death when the menu screen itself suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, floating in the air. It was exactly the same as the one in the game, a black box of white text with an intricate border made of golden Greek letters.

The right side of the screen displayed his player info and status.

NAME Black Death

LEVEL 100

RACE Demigod

CLASS Dark Mage

SUBCLASS Necromancer

GUILD N/A

HP 9, 999

MP 9, 999

The left side was where everything else was, his inventory, his list of comrades, his commands… Nico paused. He smiled, pleased that he was getting accustomed to living his favourite game. However, there was still something in Nico’s gamer mind: _battle_.

His hand hovered in the air and this time, Nico selected **command** s. He clicked on his **divine ability** called **shadow travel** , which allowed him to teleport from area to area. It was a rare ability, available only to heroes with the permanent status boost **Blessing of Hades**.

Instantly, Nico was swallowed by shadows. He willed himself to calm down and when the darkness spit him out, he was exactly where he wanted to be – back in Dryad’s Forest, by the entrance distinguishable because of the giggling tree nymphs hanging around. Nico entered without hesitation, all his thoughts focused on figuring out the battle system.

The forest was quiet, still as a breath, the only sounds the ruffling of leaves in the wind. Parting low-hanging branches and overgrown shrubs, Nico made his way to the deeper part of the forest. Soon, he heard the telltale sign that was something caught between a hiss and a roar, and he knew he had caught the attention of the monsters in the area.

The basilisks from that morning were still there, but they had jumped 20 **level** s from 14 to 34. In the game, the monsters became stronger and more aggressive at night. It seems that part hadn’t changed. Nico nodded to himself, unfazed, and he led the scaly creatures to a small clearing. He was a **dark mage** , after all, and his own **MGC** quadrupled with the moon.

He opened his menu screen quickly. Under commands, he clicked on his **skill Moon Prism** that prevented his enemies from escaping. His sceptre glowed and a patterned square of blue light appeared on the ground of the clearing. Nico smirked. There was no escape for these basilisks now!

The little monsters had begun their attack, too, and they slithered towards Nico, launching their spiky scales like projectiles. He didn’t dodge, confident in the difference between their levels, and was shocked by the pain of the spikes burying themselves in his body. He swore loudly, checking his **HP**. It was still almost full, but Nico had had enough.

How dare these low-level monsters attack him!

He ran away from the monsters, far enough that he could cast his longer spells. He opened the menu screen again, his fingers scrolling in the air as he looked for that one spell he knew would wipe out the basilisks. But he was too absorbed in the screen and he didn’t notice the monsters crossing the distance between them. Before Nico could cast any spells, the basilisks lunged at him. 

For the third time that day, Nico fell flat on his back.

He screamed and winced as the monsters’ sharp teeth pierced his thin cotton clothing. At that moment, he regretted not investing in armor, but he had always relied on buff spells instead of equipment. His HP was steadily decreasing and Nico dazedly wondered if he would reincarnate at the **Temple of Asclepius** , the game’s respawn point. Or maybe death here meant something else, like returning to his own world…

“ **Lightning Slash**!”

Suddenly, a golden beam in the shape of an arc appeared in the air, flying towards him and striking the basilisks off his chest. Nico sat up, too disoriented to wonder where the attack came from. He dug his fingers into the monster on his shoulder and flung it across from him.

“ **Call of Zeus**!”

The sky lit up like it was day and for a second, Nico went both deaf and blind as bolts of lightning fell from the sky and struck the basilisks. The monsters evaporated into dust and **coin** s and **drop item** s. Nico looked up and there, outlined against the starry sky, was another hero.

His armor, breastplate, and greaves were made of **Imperial Gold** , and so was his spear — or was that a sword? He had military-cut hair the color of the morning sun and his eyes were a blue so bright they almost glowed in the dark of the forest. Nico checked the other’s status.

NAME Thunder Eagle

LEVEL 100

CLASS Grand Knight

“Are you okay?” _Thunder Eagle_ asked, bending on one knee by Nico and looking every bit a knight in shining armor. “Do you need healing?”

Nico’s mouth went dry.

Up close, Nico realized the knight would fit perfectly with the theme of the game. Tall and broad-shouldered, he looked like one of those Roman statues Nico saw in museums, but without those ridiculous plumed helmets. He had a strong jaw, and a tiny a scar on his upper lip. With a start, Nico realized something about the player seemed awfully familiar. Had they **duel** ed before? Nico racked his head, but came up empty. He'd never been good with remembering people.

Still, who the _fuck_ did this knight think he was?

“What do you think are you doing!” Nico growled indignantly, getting to his feet. He was Black Death, _gods dammit_ , the strongest dark mage on this server and champion of the **Dark Arts Olympics** for three years running! He wasn’t some damsel-in-distress who needed to be saved!

“Helping you,” The knight answered without missing a beat. “You were too preoccupied with your screen; you didn’t notice your opponents.”

“Yes, I did!”

The knight looked unimpressed, then exasperated, then amused, and Nico opened his mouth to give the other _another_ piece of his mind. However, at that moment a monstrous roar echoed across the clearing from somewhere behind them.

“A **King Basilisk** ,” The knight turned towards the source of the sound at the same time Nico did.

The King Basilisk stepped out of the shadows. It was taller and bigger than both of them. Like the lesser basilisks, he had white frills around his neck and was hideous. Unlike them, he had a white crown on his head. The monster was abnormally high-leveled and Nico let out a startled gasp. 

“It’s entered your Moon Prism. We can't escape now,” The knight dropped into a stance. “Can you give me support?”

Nico nodded dumbly. 

Without another word, the knight charged ahead, running full-speed towards the beast. Before he collided with the monster, he rolled to the side, standing up quickly to slash at the King Basilisk’s body. It hissed in pain, but lost only a quarter of its HP.

"Wait!" Nico shouted to the other hero as he quickly opened his menu screen, cursing when he couldn't find the spell he was looking for. Again. “It’s got high DEF!” He pointed out.

“Buff me up!” The other shouted, jumping backwards when the beast lunged for him.

Nico continued scrolling through his skills list.

“You don’t need the menu screen!” The knight said, without turning back to look at Nico. “Watch this!”

Nico watched as the beast struck the knight with its clawed paws. The hero crossed his arms in front of him to block the attack, skidding backwards from the sheer force. Undeterred, he raised his left arm and Nico gaped as a brass shield appeared on his arm out of thin air. It was oval-shaped with a leather handle, embossed with golden wings.

“ **Shield Bash**!” The knight swung his shield in a great arc, connecting with the beast’s maw. The monster staggered back, screeching, half of its HP gone.

The realization hit Nico like a freight train: skills here were triggered by voice, like in his comic books! He didn’t need his menu screen! Why didn’t he think of that before?!

Hesitantly, Nico raised his sceptre towards the other hero. “ **Twilight Prince**!” He felt the surge of power as he said the words and even without checking, he knew he had lost some MP.

"Thanks!" Thunder Eagle called over his shoulder, a warm smile on his face. Glowing faintly, he leapt forward, spear in both hands. He slashed at the beast with a cry, and his spear came away black from the monster’s blood. 

"It's nothing," Nico mumbled, suddenly feeling giddy. Gods, why was he feeling self-conscious all of a sudden!? He was in the middle of a mini-boss fight, damn it, this wasn't the time to be swooning over some hot, blond knight he didn't even know in real life!

The monster quickly retaliated, swinging his mighty tail with vengeance. It hit the knight in the side, flinging him across the clearing. To Nico’s amazement, the knight stopped himself in midair, gracefully landing a few metres from him.

“You can fly?” Nico asked, surprise and envy evident in his voice. He couldn’t help it, shadow travel was cool, but he was sure flying was way cooler.

“ **Blessing of Zeus** ,” The knight explained calmly.

The King Basilisk began wailing. It only had less than a quarter of its HP left, but still it looked positively murderous.

“It’s calling for reinforcements,” The knight said, his voice deadly serious, the voice of a commander in battle. “Time to end this.”

“ **Astral Bind**!” Nico raised his sceptre again. This time, beams of light shot down from the sky, chaining the beast to the ground.

The other hero charged and the beast opened its mouth, intending to tear the knight to pieces. But the knight leapt into the air at the last second, before he thrust his spear downwards into the middle of the beast’s head. The King Basilisk couldn’t get away.

“ **Divine Grace**!” The knight shouted and the beast’s stab wound widened into the shape of a cross. It glowed white-hot against the beast’s tough hide, and the smell of something burning filled the knight’s nostrils.

As the monster evaporated, the clearing once again glowed blue. Nico knew that meant the battle had ended. The knight walked back to him, his strides long and confident, a living statue of gold and power. He stopped in front of Nico and held out a hand, palm up.

“What – “ Nico stared at the hand in front of him, confused.

Suddenly, the air between them shimmered. A white crown, similar to the one the King Basilisk wore on its head, slowly fell from up above, sailing right into the knight’s open hand. He smiled, and Nico saw the triumphant joy in those twinkling blue eyes, the barely-suppressed excitement in the curve of those upturned lips.

“It’s yours,” The knight said, his voice almost breathless with exhilaration, as he placed the crown on Nico’s head.

Nico didn’t know if it was the knight's smile or the crown on his head, but at that moment, he knew the knight had placed his heart under **Astral Bind**.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [Log Horizon](https://myanimelist.net/anime/17265/Log_Horizon) (2013), with title taken from the OP [Database](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzWcameJDow) by Man with a Mission. 
> 
> ALT END (bc i recognize that my ending was a bit too cheesy): "Nico didn’t know if it was the knight's smile or the crown on his head, but at that moment, he felt like a King." 
> 
> Actually wrote this a few years ago, but never got around to posting it. Found this again today (along with a bunch of other un-posted jasicon stuff lmao) and decided to post it in honor of our ⚡ thunder boy ⚡ Jason's birthday! In my drafts, it seemed I was trying to make this a full-blown multi-chapter fic, complete with backstory and more mechanics of the game, more stuff with Jason and his Guild, and Jason and Nico knowing each other from IRL school. But I don't remember where I was going with that, so here is the one-shot version!
> 
> I hope you liked it! Tell me what you think 💖


End file.
